Brink of Insanity
by SwallowSword
Summary: Namimori was a safe town, peaceful and uneventful. But nobody expected Namimori to have a dark secret of it's own. When Tsuna's family is hit with a tragedy, it's all they can do to solve the mystery before they disappear themselves. Halloween Special. 7 chapters. Happy Halloween...
1. Chapter 1

Rating: T (Tell me if it becomes too scary, I'll be sure to move it up).  
Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of the characters in it.

A/N: Well, everyone, since Halloween is coming up, I think I'm going to do a Halloween mystery special. Beware, this Halloween special is most likely not going to be humorous at all, since I have wanted to try my hand at writing horror, or thriller at the least. There will be character death. You have been warned. Read at your own risk.

There will be 7 parts in this 'special', and I will upload a chapter every day until the 31st of October, which is Halloween day. Each chapter will be in a different point of view of a Vongola Guardian. This is set just a few years into the future, so everyone is about 19 - 20 years old, and Lambo is 9. There is no set length to each chapter, but I'll see what I can do to develop a well rounded plot.

That having been said, happy late birthday Tsuna. Have fun with the adventure you're about to go on, though I suspect you won't be too happy.

* * *

Chapter 1: Sawada Tsunayoshi

* * *

Autumn was Tsuna's favorite season. Namimori's forests were coated with a rich earthy red and yellow, occasionally flaring with the golden rays of the low-hanging sun. Tsuna wandered along a well worn path, his feet carrying him far away from the bustle of the city. The cool air caressed his skin gently, cold enough to be chilly but not cold enough to be uncomfortable.

He had turned 19 just a few days ago, and already he could spot white streaks in his hair. The stress of being a Mafia boss was taking a toll on him, and he wondered when his humanity would snap and he would have enough of everything. He hoped the day would never come.

Normally, he would have a companion with him, but today Reborn had said he was busy. Gokudera was going after Shitt. P again, claiming that she had hinted at some rare UMA event that only happens every century. Yamamoto was helping his father out with the sushi shop. There really was nobody else he could ask. Ryohei was a little bit...extreme..for an easy stroll. He didn't have the guts to ask Kyoko to come with him. Haru was studying for a big exam coming up, and he didn't have the heart to pull her away from her studies. Hibari will flat out refuse to come. Chrome and Mukuro lived all the way in Kokuyo, and besides, Tsuna had no intention of coming into contact with his highly unpredictable and obviously psychopathic mist guardian.

So, one late October 25th afternoon, Tsuna found himself alone in his musings.

* * *

He got lost in his thoughts, again. That was one thing Tsuna really disliked about himself, the fact that he was so easily distracted by his own imagination. He chuckled. That was part of the reason why he was so petrified of supernatural creatures when he was smaller. At the age of 6, he had been certain that there was a boogey man hiding in his closet and had refused to open the doors for a whole week. His mother had to get his clothes for him and even then he was hesitant to touch them.

There he goes again. The last rays of the sun struggle to hold up the heavy weight of dusk, but even they couldn't keep the darkness away forever. Tsuna quickened his pace. He liked to think that now that he could control his flame properly, he had nothing to fear, but the instinctual human nature of fearing the dark came back to haunt him once more.

Leaves swirled ominously around his legs. The shedding trees, once filled with beautiful, warm hues, now looked hideous and shrouded in mist and mystery. Twisted trunks stood in his way, and Tsuna found himself stumbling over snarled roots and tangled sticks.

He had strayed off the path.

* * *

Tsuna thought he knew the Namimori woods well, but the scene that surrounded him was obviously unrecognizable at this point. The sun had fought a losing battle and has now completely disappeared behind the distant hills. Owls hooted high up in the treetops, and the sky was cloudy. Once in awhile, the clouds would shift uneasily and the moon would peek out from behind veils of mist, but even the light from the moon couldn't calm him. The moonlight gave everything a silver tint, and Tsuna fancied that he could hear wolves howling in the far distance, even though it was highly unlikely that Namimori would have a population of wolves so close to town.

He continued to stumble slowly forward, panicking slightly. And finally, he remembered his warm flames.

With a whoosh, Tsuna's forehead burst into vibrant color. He opened his now amber eyes and stared around distastefully. _Dame-Tsuna, you really are no use. Getting lost in a forest you know so well?_

It would be simpler to just take off into the sky, but Tsuna's hyper intuition warned him to stay on the ground. Shakily, he took out the mp3 player from his pocket and plugged himself into the music, wanting to drive back the uneasiness he felt stirring inside him. There was something horribly wrong about this section of the forest, and for some reason, flying was not advised. Perhaps it's because of the all the birds nesting in the rooftops? His intuition flared in warning when he tried once more to heighten his flame so that he could rise above the ground.

The music was making his head pound. Even though he tried to put on a lighthearted, upbeat song, the lyrics jumbled themselves in his head. He kept on feeling as if someone was whispering something into his ear, and the feeling was unwanted and scary.

Impatiently, he pulled the earphones away and stuffed the back into his pocket. He continued wandering around the desolate forest quietly, frowning when something fluttered suddenly, or when owls decided to rent the air with their harsh cries.

His flame began to flutter and his hands shook as the orange light cast strange glows on the tree trunks around him. What time was it?

7:30 pm, his phone informed him.

He didn't remember it being this dark at 7:30, even during the winter seasons when the nights were longer. Tsuna shuddered and broke out into a run. It felt like something was following him, something dark and sinister. He didn't believe in ghosts. He definitely didn't believe in zombies. He was too old to believe in the boogey man, or so he told himself.

* * *

7:43 pm.

_You have 2 missed calls._

_You have 2 text messages._

The reception in the forest was choppy to say the least. Abruptly, Tsuna's phone would go off randomly and he would jump at the sudden sound of his ringtone. However, as soon as he moved, the phone would become silent, and no matter how hard Tsuna searched in vain for that little trickle of reception, nothing would happen. He set to checking his call log.

_7:39 pm. One call from Reborn._

_7:42 pm. One call from Home._

They were probably worried about him. Tsuna usually informed his family when he wasn't coming home for dinner, and they always had dinner at 8:00 on the dot. Reborn was a man of punctuality, and nobody in his or her right mind would want to defy the world's greatest hitman. His stomach growled as he was reminded of all the food that he was missing out on. He imagined everyone laughing and sitting around the dining table, sharing their daily tales while chowing down on the delicious meals that Nana would lovingly make for her now exceptionally big family. A sharp pang of worry struck him once more. Why was he still here? He walked for another two minutes or so before sighing and bringing his phone out once more.

He set to checking his messages.

_7:13 pm. One message from Haru._

_Tsuna-san! Haru wants to tell you that Haru finally finished her essay today! She only has to study for biology now, Tsuna-san! Isn't that good? _

_Anyway, Haru wants Tsuna-san to come home earlier so that Tsuna-san can taste the new dish Haru is trying out! Hurry up and come home! :)_

_7:59 pm. One text message from Private Number._

_Go left. Walk straight. Keep going. Turn right. Keep walking. Stop. Don't look. It is a clearing. Don't look. Run. Run straight. Don't look. Keep running. Namimori Shrine._

Tsuna frowned as he stared at the instructions in the second text message. The sentences were short, up to the point where it was flippant. Maybe it was a prank text? Wrong number? Or maybe Reborn had tagged his location without him knowing one day and had decided to help him? The only reason why he wouldn't want to trust this message was based solely on the fact that it was anonymous. Most likely, Reborn's probably helping him out, but he doesn't want Tsuna to know for some reason because of his pride or something stupid like that. Reborn has his reasons, Tsuna shrugged. Besides, this was all he had to get out of the forest. It's not like anything else was going to come his way.

He slowly turned in the general direction of left, stopping when his intuition let out a comfortable wave of righteousness. He starts walking slowly and is glad to feel that the 'correctness' of his decision stayed with him.

There came a point where his intuition flared and warned him not to take another step. He stopped abruptly and started turning right, as the text message had stated. When he was sure that the direction was correct, he once again started walking.

True to the text, he soon reached a clearing. He sighed in relief and rubbed his shoulders gently. "Thank you, Reborn." He muttered. Besides his group of close friends, nobody had his number anyway.

His phone buzzed again and Tsuna whipped it out hopefully. Another text message?

Don't look too closely. You'll regret it. Was all it contained. Tsuna shook his head and sighed. Reborn and his cryptic messages. When would Reborn learn to just speak in a straightforward manner, and not go in a roundabout way? It was stupid of him to keep sending riddles and annoying myths when Tsuna was already this panicked. _Stupid Reborn. I bet this is just some kind of creepy training for him. Maybe training me to get rid of my fear of supernatural stuff or something stupid._

Movement caught his eye, and almost hysterically, Tsuna whirled to face it.

_Is that...a...a...person?_

The moonlight gleamed off pale flesh. All he could recognize was a limp mop of brown hair. Limbs snared in the boughs of the tree branches. The wind creaked eerily and shifted the...the thing. Before he knew what he was doing, Tsuna was working his way towards the 'person'. When he reached its side, he hesitantly raised his hand and tugged on one of the limbs. Almost in a surreal acceptance of what was happening, he stood stock still as the corpse tumbled out of it's position in the trees.

It landed limply on the ground. Limbs twisted unnaturally.

Almost fearfully, he slowly brushed his hand against the brown hair. Where had he seen these locks before?

A pair of listless, brown eyes stared back at him. They were glazed over, unseeing yet staring deep, accusingly into his soul. You killed me.

Tsuna fell backwards, silently. His intuition flared, telling him to back away, back away, BACK AWAY. Nothing happened though, and he stayed there. Shocked. He knew where he had saw the brown hair from. Those brown orbs, once full of vibrancy, happiness. The rope that had been used to end this life was still tightly strung around her neck.

_Tsuna-san!_

When had she wandered into this forest with him? Did she come to look for him?

_She only has to study for biology now, Tsuna-san! Isn't that good? _

She won't be doing any more studying.

_Hurry up and come home. :)_

She won't be coming home either.

* * *

A/N: Stay tuned for the next update tomorrow. Please leave a review. It doesn't matter if it's just a few words or a short sentence.


	2. Chapter 2

Rating: T  
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

* * *

Chapter 2: Gokudera Hayato

* * *

Gokudera knew there was something wrong as soon as the clock struck 7:45. There was no way Jyuudaime wouldn't contact the family if he wasn't going to make it home for dinner by 8:00, and it's his personal rule to call at least 15 minutes before. In this highly unpredictable world, the only thing Gokudera believed to be punctual were Jyuudaime's phone calls. And they have never failed him.

Until now, that is.

* * *

_Ring...Ring..._

Voicemail came on once again. _Hello, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm busy right now, so I can't answer your call. Please try again later? I...Hiieee! Reborn! I'm not talking to my girlfriend, I'm just recording voicemail! _Brief sounds of scuffles could be heard in the background, and Gokudera shut the phone. As much as he knew it was just a recording, the feeling that Jyuudaime was getting hurt somewhere wouldn't leave him. The sounds of Reborn giving Tsuna his daily beating didn't help much.

It was all Gokudera could do to stop himself from bashing his own head against the wall. If he hadn't gone UMA sighting with Shitt. P, then maybe he would be with Jyuudaime right now and Jyuudaime would never have gone missing. He was really a fail of a right hand man. There was no doubt about that. Where would he even start? Even though Namimori was a small town, Gokudera knew that logically, it would be harder to search for a missing person if Gokudera started running all over the place.

Gokudera didn't really have much choice after this. Sighing with resignation, he decided to try the spartan tutor himself.

"Chaos."

"Reborn-sama...Jyuudaime hasn't called yet...I was wondering, did you have any contact with him in the past fifteen minutes?"

"...Dame-Tsuna will always be Dame-Tsuna. He probably forgot. Don't worry too much about it, Gokudera. He'll call when he remembers." The phone shut off with finality, and Gokudera silently pulled it away from his ear.

For the first time in his life, Gokudera became suspicious of Tsuna's home tutor.

* * *

It was a brisk walk from his apartment to the Vongola Headquarters. Tsuna, being so understanding of all his guardian's needs, understood that there were days when Gokudera didn't want to spend time with the rest of the guardians. It went without saying that people wanted to be alone sometimes, Tsuna had reasoned, and so he had generously bought an apartment for all of them. Except Hibari, of course, who had his own estate, which was left to him by his parents. Gokudera spent as much time as he could with Jyuudaime, because he would never be able to forgive himself if Jyuudaime had gotten hurt while he was not there. Sometimes, as in the case of Gokudera's first successful hit, he wished to be alone. It was much too pitiful for Jyuudaime to see him in a shocked, blood covered state anyway.

Halfway there, Gokudera's phone rang. He hoped it was Jyuudaime with all his heart, but alas his wishes were not to be fulfilled.

_"Yo, Gokudera!" _His cheery voice never failed to piss him off.

"Yakyuu-baka! Jyuudaime is missing and you're sounding so carefree and shit? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Profanities slipped out of his mouth with ease. Gokudera had never been one to hold back on the language, and the more stressed he is, the worse it became. After listening to a bout of cheerful laughter from Takeshi's end, Gokudera snapped. His language became even more colorful and at one point, he was just hollering into the phone. His anxiety threatened to overwhelm him. He wouldn't stop to listen to whatever placating words Takeshi had to offer...

_"Maa, Gokudera, calm down. Calm down! I know where Tsuna is! We can go look for him right now. Maa, maa!"_

"You know where he is? THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU DUMBASS. YOU MADE ME WORRY FOR NOTHING. I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU WHEN I SEE YOU." Even as the threats slipped out of his mouth, Gokudera felt a sense of ease at knowing that someone knew where Jyuudaime was. Grumbling softly to himself, he all but forced Takeshi to give him the location of the Vongola Decimo.

_"He said he was going to go to the forest for a walk, remember? I'm sure he asked you as well! I had to help my dad at the sushi shop, so I wasn't able to go with him, but I thought you were going to be there, so it was okay. Maa, even if Tsuna is alone, he'll be fine. Tsuna's a tough guy."_

"Shut up, you idiot." Gokudera started jogging towards the forest. Yamamoto, as dumb as he is, was right. Jyuudaime was strong. Even if some assassins tried to take a hit on him, he would be able to get out of it alive. Not everyone can best the powers of a Vongola boss, least of all when it was someone as strong as the Decimo. In the back of his mind, he registered Yamamoto telling him that he would meet up with him at the Namimori Shrine, but that was all the information he needed to know. Shutting his phone off, he quickened his pace and jogged up the steps to the shrine.

"Herbivore."

_Tch. The tonfa bastard. _Gokudera growled. "What the fuck do you want, Hibari?"

Hibari was holding a limp and shivering Tsuna by the collar. Gokudera's eyes widened immediately. "JYUUDAIME!"

Hibari shoved him towards Gokudera, and Gokudera quickly set about to seeing what was wrong with the Vongola Decimo. Tsuna was a horrible wreck. His eyes were wide with shock, and his hands were shaking and holding onto a bloodied piece of rope. The rope dangled limply from his grip, stained with crimson liquid and flecked with bits of discolored flesh. Gokudera took the rope from Tsuna's hands gently, cringing in disgust when a few maggots wriggled over the coarse material, feeding hungrily on the flesh.

"What the fuck did you do to him, tonfa bastard?" Hibari 'hmph'ed in contempt at Gokudera's accusations, but he didn't leave. He seemed to be intently observing Tsuna's actions, as if waiting for the brunette to flip out at any moment and start going on a rampage. Gokudera shot him a look of contempt, but Hibari wasn't even paying attention to him.

"Gokudera!" Yamamoto soon appeared at the top of the steps. Deciding that four was one too many, Hibari turned on his heel and disappeared into the forest to who knows where. _Good riddance. _Gokudera thought savagely.

"Goku...oh, Tsuna! What's wrong with him?"

Yamamoto was by Tsuna's side in an instant, and Gokudera didn't have the heart to stop him. There was a look of concentrated worry on the baseball idiot's face. His smile was completely nonexistent as he carefully turned Tsuna's hands over and looked for wounds of any kind. Tsuna wasn't covered with blood, except for his hands, which ruled out the possibility of an attack. If there was a fight, Tsuna would usually be covered with blood due to his close combat abilities. He wouldn't be reacting in this way either. Tsuna, as wimpy as he once was, had gotten into the role of Vongola Decimo quite well, and was no longer afraid of fighting for his own causes.

The only clue came from the rope that Gokudera now held in his hands.

With a silent agreement with Yamamoto, Vongla Decimo's two closest friends started moving in unison. Even though the two of them had a childish, one-sided competitive behaviour, Gokudera knew that besides Tsuna, the best partner he could ask for is Yamamoto. They seemed to understand each other without even having to voice their own opinions out loud sometimes, as rare as those occasions were.

"I'll meet you back at the headquarters, Gokudera."

"Whatever. Just make sure Jyuudaime gets home safely."

Gone was the panic and the shouting, well, at least until Tsuna thought to open his mouth to speak.

"Gokudera...I..I k-killed her."

_Oh, so the assassin was female. _That narrowed the list down quite a bit. Not many accomplished female hitwomen were out there, but there were a couple from prominent families that Gokudera knew were gunning for Tsuna's head. It was hard to be strong without gaining some strong opponents in the process. That was a guarantee.

"Don't worry, Jyuudaime. I'll find out the family that did this..."

"No, Gokudera! I...I k-ki-" Here, Tsuna seemed to go into a panic induced coughing fit. Yamamoto quickly supported him with his arm, and Gokudera wished desperately that he had thought to bring a jacket or a bottle of water or anything for Tsuna. Was he going into shock? If then, don't they have to lift his feet or somethi-

"I killed HARU, Gokudera! She.." And then Tsuna blacked out.

* * *

Believing in the supernatural had some downsides sometimes. Just like there were bad and good people in the world, Gokudera knew that there were friendly and malevolent spirits out there. And as soon as he had stepped foot in the forest, the killing intent was unmistakable. There was a chance that Tsuna had been influenced by whatever was inhabiting the forest spiritually, causing him to kill Haru.

Still, Gokudera carried on bravely. He already had his Systema C.A.I out and at the ready, his arrow pointed downwards and his cat sitting on his shoulder arrogantly. For once, Uri wasn't complaining. Instead, the cat was sniffing at the air and letting out distressed, half-hearted growls.

Something rustled behind him, and Gokudera jumped. "COME OUT OR I'LL SHOOT YOU IN THE FUCKING FACE."

When the bushes rustled again, he immediately raised his hand and aimed his arrow steadily. A black limb emerged from the bushes, and then another, and then a pale face...

"Hibari? You fu-"

Hibari silently glared at him and waved for him to be quiet, before disappearing back into the shadows. Gokudera frowned but had no choice but to follow the aloof guardian back to wherever he had come from. Hibari was acting weirdly. Normally, he would've responded violently to the taunt, jumping at an opportunity for a good fight. Either that, or he would leave silently, after shooting Gokudera a disdainful look. But neither of those scenarios happened.

Gokudera was so lost in his musing that he almost walked right past Hibari when the man stopped. Hibari growled in annoyance and grabbed his arm. Gokudera almost shot him in the face once more in shock, but stopped himself in time. With a huff of irritation, Hibari slammed his tonfa into Gokudera's stomach, and then proceeded to lead the way into a clearing.

Gokudera cursed and ranted at the man's back, but Hibari was too intent on his goal, whatever it is, to pay any attention to the fuming storm guardian. As much as Gokudera wanted to retaliate with violence, Hibari was an ally here. The guardians had interacted with him long enough to know that though Hibari seemed separated from the family, he would always be there to bestow the correct punishment on any wrongdoers. That was enough for Tsuna to trust Hibari, and grudgingly, Gokudera had learned to overlook the cloud guardian's peculiar ways of working.

"Here, herbivore." Hibari was leaning over a corpse.

Gokudera hurried over. The corpse was missing a head, he noted. But it was definitely a female body. It was still clothed and none of its belongings seemed to be missing. The nails were sharp and clean, not covered with blood as one might expect when a person struggles. There was no sign of a scuffle, and underneath the silver moonlight, the clearing looked clean and undisturbed, only out of place because it contained a corpse.

"It doesn't seem to be the work of a common mugger or rapist. Her clothes are still on, and none of her belongings are missing. Judging by the amount of decomposition the corpse had undergone, the corpse is probably a few days old. The maggots are already fat, having gorged themselves on the rotting flesh." Gokudera commented softly, more for himself than Hibari. Gokudera had watched enough detective shows to know the basics of identifying a murder, but he had no professional experience when it came to finding details.

Hibari wasn't even trying to decipher the mystery. Hibari was checking something on his phone, and when Gokudera raised his eyebrows at the man, he held it up.

_No signal._

Gokudera scoffed. Of all the things he was worrying about, he was worrying about not getting reception? That man was seriously disturbed. He watched as Hibari slipped the phone back into his pocket and pulled out his box and ring. Releasing his hedgehog, he let the animal sniff the corpse and then wander around, staring at the floor.

_Who are we kidding? We're mafioso, not detectives. We should get out of the crime scene before someone actually thinks to send the police. _

"Tch. This person is definitely not an assassin." _Haru. _Gokudera's mind informed him, but he refused to believe such a preposterous thing, even if Tsuna had told him himself. There was just simply no way. The stupid woman was supposed to be home, studying for her exams or something stupid. Why would she be all the way out here, in the forest? And besides, the facts don't line up. Gokudera was sure that he had seen her just the day before, and they had even started a small spat about her fashion sense or something. She was wearing an ugly brown cardigan or something..

The corpse was wearing a brown cardigan.

_Tch. How many people out there wear brown cardigans? Anyway, stupid woman had said it was the craze of the season or something. Many people would've bought it, as ugly as it is. _

"Oi, Hibari. Jyuudaime mentioned something about the stupid wo-...tch, he mentioned something about Haru. Do you know anything?"

"Why would I, Gokudera Hayato?"

Hibari seemed more intent on rifling through the woman's handbag to answer his questions. Gokudera glared at him before continuing to observe the corpse. _Haru was wearing a light blue scarf on that day. That was the main reason for our spat. I claimed that it didn't match her ugly brown cardigan, but she claimed that it represented the sky and the trees or something stupid like that..._

The corpse had no scarf on, but considering that it had been beheaded, that was not a surprise. Gokudera had half a mind to start walking around the clearing, looking for a blue scarf, but for some reason his chest squeezed painfully at the thought of finding one. It would be horrifying but conclusive at the same time.

A burst of music caught the two of them by surprise. Hibari arched his eyebrow and help up a horrendously pink phone with two of his fingers, as if it was something disgusting. Gokudera quickly took it over and fumbled with it before flipping it open.

_One message._

"Hey, there's no reception here, isn't there?" Gokudera murmured. Hibari shook his head mutely and stood, before going to lean against a tree nonchalantly. Gokudera scowled at him. Trust him to leave everything up to someone else. Hibari shot a cool look back, as if daring him to complain about his actions. The phone vibrated in Gokudera's hand again, and he frowned at it.

_You have two unopened messages._  
It was wrong to invade someone's privacy like this, but curiosity took over Gokudera's sense of morals briefly. Enough for him to open the phone and mess around until he found out how to open the messages.

_Haru, when are you coming home, sweetie? It's late, and I don't want you to be out by yourself after dark. If you decided to stop over at your friend's house, please give me a call. _

_Love, Mom._

His blood was frozen. It was...Haru. _How many people in this town are named Haru?_ Gokudera reasoned with himself. Overall, there was something strange about the message. Fuck that. There was something strange with the whole situation. The corpse is at least 3 days old, and the last time Haru had been seen with Gokudera was one day ago...and now, after her daughter has been missing for who knows how long, her mother finally thinks to message her? There was no 'missed call' in the call log. Normally, someone would try calling first before sending a message when the recipient is not available. And the corpse's head is missing. Gokudera realized that that little detail was what bothered him the most. _The corpse's head is missing._

"H..Hibari, this.."

"Miura Haru was murdered." Hibari replied with certainty.

Gokudera shook his head. He was shaken. Automatically, his trembling fingers reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette, which he lit immediately and stuck in his mouth. Standing upright, he quickly backed against a tree as well, mirroring Hibari's actions, taking a long drag on the cigarette. His mind whirled. He had been planning on telling Tsuna that it wasn't Haru, and that Jyuudaime was just mistaken because he was in shock or something. But now...that all the evidence pointed out otherwise, it should be...

"Suicide...is a possibility. She didn't struggle and her clothes are clean. And...and when I was with Jyuudaime, he had a rope that was covered in blood and bits of flesh. She...she must've hung herself."

"Or was hung by someone who she trusted." Hibari interjected.

Gokudera frowned. "Whatever the fuck you want to believe. I don't give a fucking shit about your opinion."

_How did it come to this?_

* * *

Gokudera lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Tsuna had completely broken down at the news, and they had yet to tell other members of the family. The only people who knew right now were the guardians. Gokudera didn't know what to do now. They didn't want to tell Kyoko or any of Haru's classmates, because it was just too hard of a blow. Everyone else was still in denial.

Reborn was convinced that it was murder, and Gokudera, Hibari and Reborn had argued about it. An enemy famiglia, Reborn had said. Gokudera had claimed that all evidence points to suicide. It was probably because Tsuna had asked Kyoko out just a few weeks earlier, and since then Haru had seemed more distant and unwilling to hang out with them. Hibari had adamantly insisted that there was a murderer loose in Namimori's population, and had started his own investigation regardless of Reborn or Gokudera's opinions. He was determined to find out who had done this atrocious deed in his precious town.

_It was messing up the discipline. _Hibari had claimed. It was as if he didn't know Haru at all. This was another case for Hibari to bestow justice on or something. Gokudera frowned in distaste. Hibari was playing cops and robbers or something. He didn't seem to care about the wellbeing of the family. Haru's death had not affected him at all. Even Gokudera had shed a few tears upon seeing Tsuna burst into great heaving sobs. It was a heavy blow on the family. How could that heartless bastard not feel anything? Except for the need to protect his stupid town?

Gokudera's hands trembled and he almost reached for a cigarette once more, before he decided _to hell with it all. _Sitting up, he pulled a scrap of paper over and a pen and quickly penning down a list of possible suspects leading up to Haru's death.

_Suicide._

_Murder (List of families):_

_Cordain Family_  
_Falemorie Family_  
_Cansanave Family_  
_..._

_Individual murderers (Types):_

_Rapist._  
_Mugger._  
_Assassin..._

There was too little evidence on what was happening right now. There was no way Gokudera could prove anything. In times like these, it's better not to trust anyone.

Picking his pen up, he filled in a couple more names, and then after a brief pause of consideration...

_Hibari Kyoya._  
_Yamamoto Takeshi._  
_Rokudo Mukuro._  
_Chrome Dokuro._  
_Sasagawa Ryohei._  
_Sasagawa Kyoko._  
_Sawada Tsunayoshi._

They were the people closest to her, after all.

* * *

October 26th. The day when Haru's parents would know what had happened to their daughter.

Gokudera, as Tsuna's right hand man, had taken it upon himself to be the one to inform her parents of her death. He departed as soon as he finished lunch. It was better not to delay this anymore.

He rang the doorbell.

Nobody came to open the door.

"Excuse me." Gokudera called gruffly. Maybe they were asleep or something. Or intoxicated with the grief and panic of looking for their missing daughter. Haru mentioned once or twice that her parents drank, but not to the point where they got drunk. Well, special circumstances, Gokudera reasoned. And who was he to talk? Even now, he had his cigarette between his fingers, already lit.

He knocked harder on the door, and then rang the doorbell once more.

Still, nobody answered the door. _Are you fucking kidding me... _Just when he was about to kick the door down, it swung inwards.

"Aah, Gokudera-san!" It was Kyoko. What was she doing here?

She was carrying a box of Haru's belongings. Gokudera took a peek inside the box. It looked like Kyoko had been packing for a sleepover or something. There was a plain set of clothes, and then a pair of pajama pants and a shirt that said 'Fashion of Love!' decorated with pink sequins and some sparkly shit that Gokudera didn't care to identify. Nothing valuable was in the box. It also contained shampoo and shower gel.

Gokudera grunted. He really didn't know why Jyuudaime chose to go out with this woman. She was pretty, but completely airheaded. Her personality was far too similar to the baseball idiot's for his liking.

"What are you doing here, woman?"

Kyoko seemed unfazed by his gruff way of speaking. She gave him a tender smile that made Gokudera feel sick. What if she was a psychopath behind that mask of innocence and radiant happiness or whatever? What are they called again? Yanlele? Yandere?

"I came here to get some of Haru's stuff! She told me to get it for her. Apparently, she's going to spend the night on school campus or something. She's busy, ne? Of course, getting into such a prestigious university, one can only expect something like this!"

"She told you?" _But she's dead._

"Mhmm! She texted me just a few minutes ago."

Kyoko pulled out her phone, a sky-blue device with a cute doughnut keychain attached to it. After flicking through her messages a little bit, she held it up so that Gokudera could see the screen.

_Kyoko-chan! Hahi, everything's been so busy desu! Sorry, Haru hasn't been able to hang out with you guys for so long! Kyoko-chan, sorry if you're busy, but I really need to ask you to get something for me! Can you bring some of Haru's clothes and her pajamas over to Namimori University? Haru has too much work! Haru needs to stay at school because Haru needs to study in the library!_

..._What the fuck?_Gokudera shook his head. There was something seriously wrong going on. How could a dead person send text messages? And...and even so...Gokudera leaned closer and noted the number. It was really Haru's number. But that was impossible. He had Haru's phone with him all night, and it was still in his pocket. He knew he was withholding information or something, but there was something that told him he had to keep it with him. It was essential in finding out what happened to her.

"Anyway, I have to go, Gokudera-san. Haru is waiting for me. See you later!" She beamed at him and moved past him slowly. Gokudera stood rooted to the spot for a second, and then quickly he took the box in his hands.

"I'll help you carry this. It must be heavy. Did you forget anything?" Gokudera would see who this 'imposter' was. He quickly reached into his pocket. Haru's phone is still there. With one unread text message.

Kyoko smiled gratefully. "Thank you! I'm sure Haru will be happy as well. She hasn't had time to come visit us a lot..."

_But where are her parents?_

* * *

The library was too big and too grand. People were hunched over their desks, frantically working on whatever they were working on.

Kyoko hurried from desk to desk. Gokudera stayed standing in the middle of the room. It was futile. She wasn't in this world anymore. What was the point of getting worked up over someone nonexistent? The image of Haru's corpse was still fresh in his mind.

Students were starting to leave the library. The sunlight streaming in from the windows dwindled and the sky turned to a murky darkness once more. It was another starless sky, and told of ominous forbidding. Gokudera shuddered. Was this the last sight Haru saw before getting killed?

Kyoko hurried back, but Gokudera could see that she was still completely calm. "Maybe we should check the dormitories, Gokudera-san. That's where Haru spends the rest of her time, isn't it? When she's not with us, I mean." She said.

"Tch. Whatever, doesn't make a difference."

And so the two of them set off towards the dormitories, Gokudera trying to erase his feeling of unease as he walked under the starless sky.

* * *

Of course males can't go into female dormitories. _Let's turn back. _Gokudera had wanted to say, but the hopeful expression on Kyoko's face could not be ignored. _Why didn't I just tell her anyway? _Sighing heavily, Gokudera handed the box over and tapped his foot impatiently. "I'll wait for you here, woman. You better hurry up. I don't want Jyuudaime worrying over you as well."

Kyoko tilted her head in confusion at the inclusion of _'as well', _but decided not to dwell on it. She stepped bravely into the block that Haru stayed in and soon disappeared through the doors. Gokudera sat on the steps outside, playing with an unlit cigarette. Soon enough, he gave in to his cravings and flicked it against a lighter.

* * *

It was dark, and damp. The dusky dew had set in already, and the whole town was cloaked in an eerie mist. Gokudera played with his lighter, watching as the flame flickered uncomfortably against the thin, humid breeze. It had been a full 15 minutes, and Kyoko had not come back yet. It was stupid of him, but he was starting to feel that something had gotten her as well. All these years of believing in UMAs had his imagination going wild. Of course she wouldn't be back. Haru wasn't in the dormitories after all, and Kyoko was just wasting her time asking where Haru could've gone.

Another ten minutes passed, and then another twenty. Gokudera had pulled out his phone and was playing a stupid game on the screen when he suddenly thought to look at the time. _Fuck. It's so late already. Just what the hell is she doing? _There should be teachers on patrol or something. When they tell Kyoko that Haru hadn't been back for two days, would she give up then?

He remembered Haru's phone, still in his pocket.

Taking it out hesitantly, he flipped it open once more, coming face to face with the familiar screen. His hands shook as he went back to her message log. There was something so disturbing about going through a dead person's belongings. It have him a deep sense of unsettled fear, as if he had swallowed something bad and it was slowly rotting inside him. He wondered if Haru would come back to haunt him or something. Even though he hadn't really done anything particularly bad to her, they still hadn't gotten along that well. It was just another quirk of their relationship, Gokudera had thought. Their personalities differed too much for them to agree on anything.

_One text message from Private Number._

_My heart craves blood. I cannot live_

There, the message was cut off. Gokudera stood quickly. This was a...a message from the murderer. Definitely. There was no reason for anyone else to play such a prank on Haru, and the number was not one that he recognized.

_Kyoko. Fucking Sasagawa Kyoko. Oh fuck. _

He burst through the doors, and the stench hit him full on. Everywhere around him...rotting corpses. Filling the air with the sickly sweet smell of musky blood and decomposing flesh. Splatters of blood stained the walls in random patches. Gokudera covered his mouth and shook.

He pulled out his phone and shakily dialed Yamamoto's number, Tsuna's number, even Kusakabe's number. _No signal_.

"Woman! Oi, woman...we're leaving." If this is some kind of sick illusion, Gokudera was going to beat the fuck out of Rokudo Mukuro as soon as he got the permission to visit Kokuyo. Maybe he would bring Hibari along, just because the man would go into a rage and destroy anything anyway. He leaned on the wall and dry heaved. He hadn't eaten dinner and lunchtime felt like an era away. His fingers came away sticky with blood and bits of dried flesh and inners.

"Oi, woman.." He continued calling, even though he had a pretty good idea what had happened to her. A light flickered on and off at the end of the corridor, and drawn like a moth to a flame, Gokudera walked forward in a trance.

There she was, hanging on the wall. A noose still curled around her neck. Her head was missing, and again, her fingers were clean and showing no signs of struggle. She gripped a bloodied knife in her right hand. It was as if she had willingly stood on a chair, hung herself and then kicked the chair to the side, except the noose was nailed into her neck and her head had been taken off. Gokudera had not heard any sound of screams or struggling while he was outside, and the end of the corridor was not that far away from the entrance.

_An illusion. _He told himself. _This is an illusion. What the fuck is going on with this world. What the fuck. This is just too messed up. _

There was a stool standing upright near one of the walls, with the cardboard box Kyoko was carrying set upon it. Gokudera stumbled over, and opened it.

Haru's unseeing eyes stared back at him. Her mouth had been forcefully pulled into a grimacing smile. Her brown hair had been pulled back and pulled neatly into a ponytail, and the head was clean. Even the bottom of the neck, where it had been severed from the body, had been burned cleanly. There was no blood. Her eyes stared at him, and Gokudera imagined that she would pull her lips back and laugh any moment now.

Gokudera turned and ran.

* * *

In every single room he ran into, there lay a scene of carnage. Dead bodies littered the once clean, waxed floors. Lights flickered randomly, throwing his vision into disarray. Gokudera wanted to clutch at his head and stop, but he had to get out. The suppressing aura of the room was getting to him. He wanted to rip through the walls and get home, but nothing was happening. He continued to stumble blindly.

Finally, the entrance came into view. He gasped in relief. Gokudera was no stranger to death, but after seeing so much gore, so vividly, after seeing someone dead in such a gruesome way...he couldn't take it.

His phone beeped with a message. Gokudera laughed out loud. _Now you call me back? You fucking retard, Yamamoto Takeshi!_

He flipped it open.

_One message from Private Number._

_without vengeance. _

Gokudera gaped, one hand on the handle of the exit. _I cannot live without vengeance. _This was like some badly written horror movie, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the message. Pausing was his mistake.

_"Gokudera-san..."_The knife lodged itself firmly in his back, right below his shoulder blades. He could feel it pierce his lungs. His breath came in short pants now, and his vision flickered. He pushed forward. The street was so close. So close. Just a few steps away.

And just before he toppled forward, he turned back.

There she was, headless and missing her knife. The noose was still nailed to her neck. Kyoko's clothes were still immaculate, somehow unstained by the blood.

And Gokudera could still imagine her smile, a smile that will haunt him until he draws his last breath, even though it wasn't physically there.

* * *

A/N: Next update will be tomorrow. Um, just because you guys know that I will be updating tomorrow doesn't mean that you don't have to review ^.^' I'm not forcing you, but I really would like more people to review on this, even though it's going to be over in seven days.

Thanks so much to **TunaSFX **and **Lunakatsuma** for reviewing. Both of you get a virtual cookie from me.

So guys, please tell me if this is going a little too far in the horror department. I'll either move the rating up, or take the fic down, depending on what you guys think. Thanks for reading :3


	3. Chapter 3

Rating: T  
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

* * *

Chapter 3: Sasagawa Ryohei

* * *

Ryohei's protective brother instincts had immediately come out as soon as he heard of Haru's condition. Regardless of how selfish it was of him, he had immediately started making plans on how Kyoko should be protected. Sure, he had shed a few tears at the news of Haru's death, but he was never really close to her. All he knew was that she was someone important to Kyoko, and that puts Kyoko in the line of danger as well.

For a second, he was wishing that Kyoko had never met Haru, or Tsuna, or any of them at all. But then he realized that it would mean him being left out of all the team fights they have in the future. He would never be the Sun Guardian of the Vongola Family, and he would've never found so many interesting people to spar with.

Kyoko, Ryohei decided, will be separated from this group from now on. He doesn't care how he'll get this done, he'll make sure that his beloved sister is out of harms way and definitely not in the reach of the monsters who got Haru. He didn't care if she had any objections. He made a lifelong promise to protect this little sister of his, and he was not about to break it.

So he set about making the preparations. Kyoko had gone out to go look for Haru, for some reason or another, so Ryohei had decided to start her packing for her. She would be faced with no choice but to leave when she comes back, but even so Ryohei couldn't afford to feel guilty.

First, her clothes, then her beloved stuffed animals. Photos and keepsakes were a definite no no. It would make departing even more painful for his beloved sister. Everything went into the big suitcase that had been lugged around with them for as long as Ryohei could remember. From one foster home to another. That suitcase had held all their belongings, even though they had not had many moves. Many families weren't willing to take two siblings in at once, and when they had finally found a suitable family, Ryohei had trouble adjusting to new parents because they constantly suppressed his urge to shout and box. Boxing had been his passion since he had first thrown a good punch, and he couldn't get along with anyone who looked down on his passion. Kyoko, not wanting her brother to live his life in a manner he was not satisfied with, was often the one who decided to run away from home first to spare her brother the pain of the decision.

_It's okay, Kyoko. This time, your big brother will decide for you. You won't have to feel the pain of the decision yourself._

* * *

The next time he saw his beloved sister was at the morgue in the hospital. He hadn't wanted to believe it at first, but within 2 hours of his packing her stuff, she was already dead. Ryohei's eyes narrowed with hate. He was going to get them, and they were going to pay big time with what they had done to his only family member. Tsuna...Tsuna and them didn't count anymore. They were the reasons why Kyoko had had to suffer so much when she died. They were the reason why she was lying on the cold hospital bed, a white sheet drawn over her beautiful features. They were the reason why she would never smile anymore. She didn't even have a head anymore.

"DAMN IT!" He slammed his hand against the hospital wall, earning himself some harsh stares from the hospital staff, as well as some surprised squeaks from nurses. "What are you staring at?" He growled back when they opened their mouths to berate him. The doctors and nurses quickly learned to shut up and just stay away from him.

Ryohei was trembling in fury. There was no way he would let anyone get away from this, least of all the person she was last seen with.

_Gokudera Hayato...just what have you done to my sister?_

* * *

When Ryohei came charging into Gokudera's hospital room, Hibari knew that the man maddened to a point beyond reason. Ryohei was roaring like a ballistic animal, his face twisted beyond recognition. A blast of his death intent filled the room, causing even the hair on the back of Hibari's neck to raise. In any other circumstance, the carnivore would've immediately pulled out his tonfas, but this was hardly the occasion. The man was in pain, and there was no reason to rub salt into the wound by defeating.

But damn, his death intent was hard to ignore.

Hibari had only agreed to stay in Gokudera's room because Sawada Tsunayoshi had promised him that he would get to interrogate the useless herbivore when he woke from his long slumber. Gokudera was the only lead to the murderer right now, and as much as Hibari hated to admit, he needed the information that only Gokudera had.

"GOKUDERA HAYATO!" Ryohei snarled angrily, making Hibari direct his attention back at the outraged boxer once more. Ryohei wasn't joking around anymore. He wasn't about to play Gokudera's word games anymore. No more 'Octopus-head', 'lawn head'. Gokudera was the person he most wanted to see dead right now, and unless the man had a good enough alibi for Ryohei to believe that the silver bomber had not murdered his sister with his own two hands, he was going to make sure Gokudera's heart stopped beating.

_With his dying will._

Hibari stood and stretched languidly, but Ryohei could see that the man was trying hard to ignore his own death intent. Hibari was a beast, much like how Ryohei was right. Hibari wouldn't be able to control his bloodlust for long. And so, Ryohei decided to target him first.

"What, you too, Hibari? Protecting the murderer? Why are you posted here anyway? Don't you hate associating yourself with us? When have you turned into a loyal lapdog like Gokudera over there? When did you get so _pathetic, _Hibari?"

To his frustration, Hibari merely turned his head away, uninterested. What the boxer was spouting was complete and utter nonsense. Hibari couldn't care less about meaningless taunts. The man was not seeing sense right now, and so he was deemed an unworthy opponent in Hibari's eyes. The final blow, however, came when Ryohei actually charged at him and caught him off guard. The hatred in Ryohei's eyes was fueled by the nonchalant stance Hibari was taking. Hibari had the guts to ignore him, to look at him like he was a mere animal...did he not understand the pain he was going through?

_He's a demon. He has no human heart. _

With an outraged cry, he reached forward...and in the heat of trying to defend himself, Hibari had completely forgotten about the unconscious man on the bed behind him.

_Snick. _Gokudera's IV was completely sliced off his arm. That cut off his pain medicine and the medication to keep his heart beating. Machines started beeping madly as his heart rate jumped and fluctuated madly. Ryohei stilled, gaping. When he said he had wanted to kill Gokudera, he didn't literally want it to happen. He had just been so angry he wasn't seeing sense. Hibari was equally as shocked, though the only indication of his inner turmoil was the slight widening of his eyes.

Nurses started calling to each other and doctors trooped into the room, carrying heavy equipment and defibrillators. But by then, Ryohei knew that it was too late for the bomber. He had given another shudder, his heartbeat fluttering weakly for a second before Gokudera jerked in his death-throes for the last time and then gasped for nonexistent breath.

_Vengeance is served, _a savage part of Ryohei's mind informed him, and he buried his face in his hands.

* * *

_"Kufufufufu~ Oya, there you are. For a man with your kind of personality and brains, I never thought it would be this satisfying to see you snap."_

Ryohei sat up blearily and regarded the pineapple-head before him with a wary glare. There was no reason for him to trust anyone anymore. When Mukuro gave him a devilish smirk, Ryohei almost snapped again. The anger inside him boiled, and he kept on replaying Kyoko's dead body in his mind. Now that he thought about it, Mukuro had never been on their side in the first place. He was just an outcaste who liked to get close to family members to corrupt their thoughts.

_"Oya, just before you get hasty with the killing, I'd like to say that I was not the one who murdered Sasagawa Kyoko. I do, however, have her phone in my possession. It showed up by my beloved Nagi's bedside table this morning. Most peculiar."_

Ryohei let out a pained cry and lunged for him. Mukuro dodged smoothly to the side, chuckling at him. Unlike Hibari, Mukuro was not one to hold back on the death intent. He was letting his own bloodlust show freely and even jabbed his trident at Ryohei a few times, just for fun. Ryohei roared angrily when his face got swiped.

_That asshole. I bet he was the one who lured Kyoko into the trap._

And now his whole body was singing for Mukuro's blood. He wanted the pineapple-head's neck in his grasp, and he wanted to choke him slowly and laugh and spit in his face as Mukuro begged for mercy. He was going to make the illusionist wish he had never been born. He was going to make Mukuro pay for every single, heinous crime he ever committed. He was going to make him _pay. _

_"Oya, oya. So hasty. But letting your anger run your decisions is not going to be very smart in an outcome of a fight like this. Besides, don't you want to know what really happened in that corridor? While you were cluelessly packing her belongings away and supposedly 'protecting' her? In fact, kufufufu~ I would like to inform you that killing the silver haired lapdog is probably the stupidest thing you have ever decided to do. There goes your lead. Poof!" _Mukuro cackled gleefully and watched as Ryohei struggled with his emotions. He seemed to be wrestling with his own limbs almost, reaching out and the jerking backwards, snarling under his breath all the while. It was fun, seeing someone deteriorate mentally like this. It was definitely Mukuro's form of entertainment.

Unfortunately for Mukuro, all good things had to come to an end. Ryohei was finally able to calm himself down by taking deep breaths and clenching his fists tightly. Mukuro stayed sitting on the bank of the lake, staring curiously up at him until Ryohei was ready to face him once more. The boxer turned to him, all traces of his mad fit gone from his face. Instead, he had the calm persona of a well trained killer, someone who was used to hiding his emotions behind a mask of indifference.

Mukuro chuckled. As much as he knew his own beloved Chrome was in danger of this murderer, this interesting turn of events was definitely great entertainment. Who knew that the deaths of two useless beings would wreak so much havoc? He should've thought of this earlier. Maybe then he would be able to take the credit for the graphic killings.

_"Here's her phone. There's something interesting inside it. I would've never thought she was one to type something out like that."_

Quickly lifting the cover of his sister's sky-blue electronic, Ryohei almost shuddered to see the words that were displayed on the screen.

_Onii-san...I didn't want it to end this way, onii-san. But there is no choice. Haru and I have been falling out lately, Onii-san, so I had to get rid of her. She was once my best friend, but ever since Tsu-kun confessed to me, she didn't seem the same again. She never called me once, and when I tried to contact her, she would always hang up as soon as she heard my voice. Once, I tried visiting her. She slammed the door shut in my face. Isn't that horrible, Onii-san? I wanted to show her that I still cared for her, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So I asked her to meet me near Namimori forest, where I knew Tsu-kun was going to be walking that day. Maybe if we all talked to Tsuna-san together, then we would be able to find out the truth behind our relationship. Then she would be able to move on from her petty feelings of jealousy, I reasoned with myself. That night I asked her to listen to me, but she refused, and she cried and she didn't want to listen. _

_She was so annoying, Onii-san. So annoying. I had to_

The message was cut off there. Ryohei was breathing hard, his pupils dilated. He never knew that his sister felt this way. Never knew that his own sweet sibling was capable of such acute feelings of pain and anger. The message was unsent and only saved as a draft, as if she had been cut off from writing something like that.

This isn't possible. Kyoko would never think like this. There was something influencing her, Ryohei knew. He quickly flicked through her other text message. Nothing was out of place, though he did notice a lot of unsent messages directed at the recipient 'Haru'. Maybe what she was saying was true. Haru had been ignoring his little sister, and the stress of losing such a close friend had changed Kyoko's personality completely.

"This is wrong, Mukuro. Sawada said he was the one to kill Haru, not Kyoko. My sister is innocent." Ryohei found himself saying. Yes, there was an inkling of truth in his statement. The first thing, he heard from Yamamoto, that Tsuna had said when he got out of the forest was something like _"I killed HARU, Gokudera..." _or something. Yes, that was right. It's all Sawada's fault, not his sister's.

_"Oya, oya. You don't look too well. Are you sure you want to identify the culprit by blaming people randomly, Sasagawa Ryohei? Even for a meathead, the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty' should mean something. How about for the next surprise?" _

Mukuro waved his arm flamboyantly. Shooting a look of triumph at Ryohei, he snapped his finger. An image appeared in the air next to him. Ryohei unwillingly was engrossed at watching the film. There was the dark corridor. Gokudera was walking forwards. His features were hard to define in the darkness, but he knew that Gokudera had a look of fear on his face. He didn't have anything in his hand except for a mobile phone and a cigarette. Ryohei watched as Gokudera slowly got used to the gruesome surroundings, and then started stumbling towards...towards...his sister's corpse. Gokudera was panicking, heaving, running...And then Ryohei watched in horror as the knife came out of nowhere and struck Gokudera in the back. He saw Gokudera look backwards fearfully, his features tightening into one of concentrated fear, before he toppled forwards and out of the video's line of sight.

_"The girl's dormitory has installed a safety camera monitoring the hallways. I managed to get hold of the video feed. So? How does it feel, watching his terrified expression? Knowing that you had 'killed' him while he was completely innocent of the crime?" _

"...Shut up and replay the video. I think I saw something in the darkness there.." Ryohei refused to think about Gokudera's innocence.

Mukuro pursed his lips and smirked, before snapping his fingers and watching with satisfaction as Ryohei became engrossed in the replay once more. Ryohei leaned forward eagerly at one point, and out of curiosity, Mukuro paused the video.

"There. Don't you see it?" His voice was turning hysterical, but then again, who wouldn't upon seeing something so eerily similar to a ghost? Just behind Gokudera, off to his right, were two glowing eyes. Malevolent, evil eyes. Ryohei could just picture the evil smirk that came with such a fearsome stare. Mukuro chuckled, his voice wavering slightly. Even with all his time spent in the 6 paths of hell, Mukuro could not get used to the feeling of seeing the evidence of something otherworldly.

_"Oya, oya. I think we have our little murderer there. Shall we inform the others? I'm sure a certain skylark would love to hear about this lead." _

* * *

Ryohei's head was still reeling from the current turn of events. First, it had been Haru on the 25th of October. And then Kyoko, the next day. And now Gokudera, even though Ryohei was partly to blame for Gokudera's death. It was painful to think about, and the boxer had finally succumbed to his overwhelming need for something to drug his senses. He was sitting by the window of his apartment, watching as the sky darkened above him. He held a cup of sake in one hand, and the bottle in another. With a grunt, he raised the bottle and took a long swig.

Another day had gone by. How many people were still going around in their daily lives while his world got shot to hell? By now, Yamamoto would have to be dealing with either a hysterical or suicidal Tsuna. Tsuna was too kindhearted to deal with all these deaths, and it hurt Ryohei to think about how his self proclaimed brother was dealing with this nonsense. Just who or _what _exactly was behind these killings?

With a sigh, Ryohei sat upright and staggered drunkenly to the door. He yanked it open and stumbled down the corridor, shoulder scraping against the walls in his drunken stupor. Finally leaving his apartment successfully, he took the stars down two at a time and almost tripped and fell.

_I have to apologize to Gokudera. _Was the only coherent thought going on in his mind right now.

He went around to his landlord's lawn and grabbed a fistful of the fresh flowers growing there. The bush looked damn ugly now, he thought to himself, but the flowers were good enough for forgiveness. Gokudera was sure to forgive him now. He had even gone into the trouble of getting some fucking flowers.

Yawning, Ryohei made his way down the road towards the hospital, oblivious to the sharp pair of eyes watching him.

* * *

The morgue was quiet, as always. Solemn, cold and somber. Ryohei wandered around sleepily. He had no recollection of how he got into the hospital successfully, though his fist smarted as if he had hit someone or something recently. His head pounded with all the liquor he had just drunk, but he was still in a numbed, entranced state. This sake really works, he kept telling himself. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry anymore.

Ryohei went around lifting the sheets off the fresh corpses. Some of them had clean wounds; bullet holes, knife stabbings. Others had been beaten black and blue, or had died peacefully of some kind of drug. To Ryohei, all of them looked completely the same. He finished the whole room before he realized that he still held the flowers in his hand. Where was Gokudera?

He started on another round. Lifting one sheet methodically after the other. He tried not to disturb them too much, because some of them must be waiting for autopsy or something, but something struck him as odd. There were two headless corpses in the room.

One was female. _Kyoko. _A pang of dull pain shot through his heart once more. No matter how many times he told himself to toughen up, his sister's death was still hard to comprehend.

The other one...was male. Muscular. Pale. _Gokudera Hayato. _But he is missing a head.

_He's missing a head. _

Ryohei would've cried out in horror if he weren't so intoxicated. The flowers in his hands fluttered to the floor, forgotten. There, nailed on the wall right above Gokudera's once complete body, was his sister's head. And she was smiling down at him, her lips twisted in almost a gentle smirk of contempt. Ryohei's head spun. This was too much. The alcohol was upsetting his stomach. The imagery was upsetting his mind. This was too much.

He managed to make it out of the morgue, out of the hospital, back into his own apartment. He didn't want to be alone anymore, so he quickly grabbed his phone...and his sister's phone and ran out. He ran down the street, sprinting, his breaths coming in short pants. _No, no, this can't be happening, this can't...Kyoko, why...I have neglected my duty as an older brother!_

The phone rang and Ryohei stopped, fumbling for it. It was not his black phone but the sky-blue one that was his sister's. He stared at it dumbly, split between hurling it as far away as he could to opening it and checking what was written.

Curiosity won over. With an ever increasing sense of dread, Sasagawa Ryohei flipped the phone open.

_I had to do it, Onii-san. I had to put the noose around her neck and cut off her screams. I had to watch as she jerked around, fighting to grab me, but she couldn't reach me. I had to watch as blood poured out of her crushed throat and streamed down her chin, but don't worry, Onii-san, I know how Haru values her clothes. I made sure to wipe the blood away before it dripped onto her shirt. _  
_  
I remember laughing, Onii-san. Haru looked so helpless, so funny. So beautiful. Maybe it was Haru that Tsu-kun was meant to choose after all. And that thought, more than any other, convinced me that what I had done was right._

And that was the last thing Ryohei saw before the hurtling vehicle slammed into him. He had turned briefly and had seen the driver, a masked entity with no distinguishable feature except those two piercing, haunting eyes.

* * *

A/N: Like how it's going so far? Please leave a little review...Thanks to all those who reviewed since I last posted:

**TunaSFX, Lunakatsuma, MySadistChibi, They Who Are Unloved-Neglected **and last but not least, **animepie.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rating: I guess, since nobody's objecting to this rating, I'll keep it as a T.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.  
A/N: Just to let you know, there will be alternating points of view for this chapter. Please don't get confused! I'll tell you who is speaking when.

* * *

Chapter 4: Mukuro and Chrome

* * *

**~Mukuro~**

It was weird, walking down the hallways of the Vongola mansion and having it be so deathly quiet. Even for someone as morbid as Mukuro, who liked his peace and quiet at times so that he could deal with his own sanity, or lack thereof, Mukuro knew that at one point he found himself wishing for the cacophony that came with being part of a Family. True, Mukuro was used to being solitary. For years, he had stayed in the Vindiche cells, with nothing but his own thoughts for company. And then Chrome had come into his life, and then that nasty tonfa wielding delinquent, and then finally, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Vongola Decimo. The man who brought them all together.

Mukuro was not one for sentimentalism, but as he leaned against the abnormally intact walls of the Vongola mansion, he couldn't help but feel as if he was getting lost in his own thoughts once more. Hibari was off looking for the culprit and dealing with the local authorities on Sasagawa Ryohei's death. Reborn had ordered Tsuna, Yamamoto, Chrome, Lambo, Ipin and Nana to Italy so they would be out of the murderer's reach. Mukuro was the only one left here, really, alone in the Vongola Japanese headquarters.

Everyone else was gone. Gokudera is dead. Haru and Kyoko are both dead, even though Mukuro had never felt the need for their existence in the first place, he did pity the way they died. It was one thing to wish for death, it was quite another to have it forced upon you. Mukuro, out of all people, should know that.

Aimlessly, he jogged around the mansion. There wasn't as much space to build a big mansion in Namimori as there was in Italy, so the jog ended quite quickly. Gianini had had plans to expand the compounds so that it went underground too, but Mukuro guessed that all plans had halted due to the tragedies that were occurring one after another. If Mukuro was superstitious, he would've said that someone cursed the whole family. But since he wasn't, he wrote it off as the work of some sick psychopath from other families, targeting the weak and the young and all that fucked up logic.

_This is idiotic. The only psychopath around here should be me or the damn Skylark. _

Mukuro was bored out of his mind. He had nobody to psychologically scar. He had nobody to possess. He had nobody to spar with. He had nobody to even converse with. His dear Chrome was thousands of miles away, and the most they could hold a conversation for is for around 2 minutes, before either she was completely drained of her energy, or Mukuro himself was pulled deep into the void of his thoughts. He had no wish to destroy his dear Nagi in that way.

Just because he had nothing else to do, Mukuro decided to start his own investigation. Besides Mukuro himself, Gokudera Hayato and the loud idiot, nobody else had seen what the 'murderer' actually looked like. And right now, only he was alive. It was almost as if the murderer was deliberately targeting those who knew too much.

Well, too fucking bad. Because when it comes to mind games, two can play at the game. Mukuro felt a smirk of anticipation grace his face. This was bringing a game of cat and mouse to a whole new level. Of course, it could only take a psychopath to defeat another psychopath, right?

* * *

**~Chrome~**

It was weird, walking down the Vongola mansions and having it be so deathly quiet. Chrome's eyes were red-rimmed from crying. Haru and Kyoko had been the only true female friends she has ever made.

In her old school, Chrome had been an outcaste of sorts. Her parents were influential, and nobody wanted to get close to her because they were scared that she was going to cause trouble for them. The 'friends' that she made there were simply sycophants; sucking up and playing along so that they would get handsomely rewarded, or so they thought. When they realized that Chrome really wasn't doing anything for them, they left slowly, and joined in the backstabbing and quite ridiculing that finally destroyed her. None of her 'friends' had bothered to really look into her family background.

Her parents, needless to say, were both heartless. They hated her to the core, feeling that she was only a burden on them. Her mother didn't love her father, and they had only gotten married because her father got her mother pregnant in a one-night-stand. Hardly the foundation for a loving family.

Because of all these reasons, Chrome had been happy that the car had hit her instead of the cat. She thought that since the cat ran away and narrowly escaped death, since she had traded her life for the animal's life, her terrible past still had value. Her life was still worth something, even as a sacrifice. Imagine her surprise when Mukuro visited her in her sleep and offered her a second chance to live. Karma, Chrome had realized. She had suffered silently, but now she was no longer alone. So she gladly accepted Mukuro's offer, regardless of his intentions, knowing that one day she would have to walk her own path once more, but glad nonetheless that someone was there to walk with her for a while.

And then she met the Vongola Family. Those were the happiest days of her life.

* * *

**~Mukuro~**

Mukuro certainly knew that he had a weird personality of his own. He found it exceptionally easy to concentrate in a place where it was deathly silent, and so had sought this place out especially so that he could focus on his thoughts. What had started as a whim to chase away his boredom had become so important to Mukuro that he had decided to work with the Skylark together. Of course, he had yet to talk the details through with the overly violent Skylark, but Mukuro had a feeling that Hibari would agree so long as Mukuro didn't consider them friends of any sort after this investigation. They would be both working for their own gains, as usual, but this time they would be fighting the same enemy.

Somehow, it comforted Mukuro a little to know that he had a potential ally still with him in Namimori. The world had seemed so much emptier without the liveliness of the Vongola family. Already, word was spreading across Mafiosos that the Vongola family had become weaker due to some creepy supernatural incident. The Mafia looked down on weakness, and even if the Vongola was once the strongest Family, there would be many others willing to take its place.

Mukuro and Hibari had to work fast to solve this, otherwise their Family might be buried once and for all.

Mukuro sighed, tapping his finger against the elegant marble stone he was leaning on. The stone was stuck firmly in the ground, smoothed and polished. On it were simple words.

_Keito Masashiro_  
_Born: October 4th 1937._  
_Died: September 38th, 2000._  
_He was a loving father, brother and a loyal husband. He will be missed dearly. _

The graveyard held a special fascination for Mukuro. There were corpses under his feet, some only a few years, weeks, occasionally days old. It was an excellent place to think, because the air was quiet. People held their breath when they walked past, all because of stupid superstitions. Mukuro, however, knew that the people now buried six feet under, were once living, breathing, thinking creatures just as he was. He held respect for the dead on a completely different, slightly apathetic level. Maybe it was because of his namesake, maybe it was because of his previous experiences, but Mukuro had no reason to fear death. He had seen what Hell looked like in all of its six path glory. What more was there to fear?

He balanced his moleskin notebook on his knee and continued sketching random symbols. From his mind, he drew the positioning of the dormitories that Gokudera had had his fatal encounter with the demon in. There were three doors, from what Mukuro had gained from the camera footage, but Gokudera had mimed opening others, almost as if he believed there were more doors. Physically, there were only three. But mentally, there might be infinite possibilities as to what Gokudera had seen.

Mukuro had a secret ability, he dared not tell anyone else. It had become a legend somewhat as Mukuro had lived through the ages in his different lives, and at first Mukuro hadn't believed in it himself. But after he had tested it out on one of the scientists he had killed in the Estraneo Famiglia, he knew that it was a true ability. And a useful one at that.

Rokudo Mukuro had the special ability to talk to ghosts. And it was only a simple matter of calling Gokudera back into the living for a few minutes to gather information on what was happening.

Of course, counting on the fact that they won't be interrupted halfway in their conversation. Mukuro had learnt a long time ago that supernatural creatures weren't a different species on their own. Rather, they were creations of human memories, fears, even animated bodies or spirits, hence the occurrence of 'zombies'. However, supernatural creatures had an annoying ability to 'listen in' to other supernatural conversations, and when a portal to the living world was connected for even a brief amount of time, they are all immediately attracted to the prospect of seeing a glimpse of their old world once more. Mukuro had once laughed at those disgustingly dramatic television shows where people 'investigate' ghosts and tell them to go away. Most of the time, it's just an overly attached relative with no malevolent intent, apart from a feeling of slight irritation for being told to 'shoo' all the time.

Humans were interesting creatures indeed. They had such petty fears. Fortunately, Mukuro was not exactly human.

He closed his eyes and began to build the connection.

* * *

**~Chrome~**

A chill went down her back, and it wasn't because she was currently standing under a steaming hot stream of water. Chrome quickly towelled off and stepped back into her bedroom, closing the bathroom door silently. She threw on her clothes, feeling the drought in the room caress her skin gently. The chill refused to go away, no matter how many layers she put on. Thus, she concluded that either something bad was going to happen soon, or Mukuro-sama was starting his 'special' ability to do something.

It worried her. Since the deaths of the two girls and the two guardians, Vongola obviously hadn't gone back to its former glory. Tsuna didn't have the heart to replace his guardians, and Nono's guardians had to come out of retirement to complete what Gokudera and Ryohei had not been able to finish.

Chrome didn't blame Tsuna for hesitating though. It seemed cruel to just treat Gokudera and Ryohei's presence as if they were simply expendable. But the Vongola was collapsing, and if Vongola Decimo didn't pull himself together faster, there was nothing they could do to save the crumbling remains of this once proud family.

Chrome closed her eyes and threw herself backwards and onto the soft mattress. _..Mukuro-sama?  
_  
The reply was, surprisingly, instantaneous.

_Oya, my dear Nagi, please don't interrupt. This is a delicate process, as you know from experience._

Chrome did know from experience. She knew very well what was happening. Mukuro-sama was attempting to reconnect with spirits, just as he had done for her.

Chrome had died. She had died upon impact in the car crash. But her organs, the ones that weren't majorly damaged, had continued to function for the last few minutes. As she had laid in the hospital bed, breathing her last breaths, completely unconscious of the fact that she was still breathing, her spirit had already passed onto the other side. She had met Mukuro on the banks of the doorways to the afterlife, and what a wonderful place it had been. If she could, her spirit would've stayed there forever, but she had chose to come back into her body for a second shot at living. Mukuro had been able to do that for her. He had pulled her spirit right back into the living world, and had dumped her roughly inside her own flesh and bones. It was a weird experience, opening her eyes to the body she had seen as a corpse the moment she stepped foot on those grassy slopes.

Essentially, Chrome was no more than a thinking 'zombie'. But Mukuro taught her so much. He taught her how to live, and how to keep living. She was able to keep her blood circulating only through the connection he had with her, and she was able to keep her flesh from decomposing only because Mukuro willed it so. Now, when she cut herself, the cut would heal just like a normal person's, and that was also because Mukuro had granted her regenerative abilities. Mukuro made her human again.

This wouldn't work for Gokudera. Someone had cut off his head, and had run away with it. Once the corpse reached a point of decomposition, the process of 'spirit-returning' as Chrome liked to call it, was no use anymore. The body simply wouldn't be able to mend itself properly so as to stop falling apart. The organs hadn't been used for too long.

It relieved Chrome to know that Mukuro started to get serious on the investigation as well. With Mukuro and Hibari working on the team together, they were bound to catch the murderer soon enough. Then everything could stop, and everyone could be happy again. Gokudera, Haru, Ryohei and Kyoko could be avenged as the murderer got his rightful punishment. The Vongola would enter a period of mourning, and then they would pull themselves together and _keep living, _if only because the deceased would've wanted it to be this way.

Chrome smiled happily. Her family would be mended again in no time.

* * *

**~Mukuro~**

"You refuse? Oya, you really are a stubborn man, Hibari Kyoya. I haven't even stated my terms and conditions yet."

Mukuro watched curiously as Hibari turned his head away disdainfully. He understood how the man's mind worked. He was probably thinking something along the lines of this: there was no way anyone was making him work with his arch enemy. For all he knew, Mukuro could be the very person behind these murders. Mukuro had never completely integrated himself into the family, choosing not to associate himself with the Mafia as a whole. He had shown the most malicious intent towards the Vongola when they first started out, and that made him prime suspect for the murder. Now, he was proposing that they work together to find something that Mukuro believed was 'otherworldy'? Hibari wasn't buying it.

"You feel as if I'm not part of the Family? And yet what are you yourself, Skylark? You're aloof. You refuse to be part of the family, choosing not to associate yourself with these 'herbivores' as you call them. People are convinced you are a heartless demon. You enforce 'discipline' without thought for the wellbeing and the mental state of the citizens. That makes you just as equally likely to be a suspect, no?" Mukuro murmured softly.

This wasn't a moment for jokes and fighting. Hibari was an untameable beast, and that was something Mukuro understood painfully well. There were times when his mind shut off and he followed his heart in whatever he did, resulting in horrifying, animalistic results. Mukuro hadn't told anyone this before, but when he had immediately finished massacring every last member of the Estraneo family who had dared to touch him, he had stayed in the room with the dead bodies. He had stayed there, staring at his bloodied hands, and wondering, really wondering what they had done to his heart. They had made him heartless, putting him through so much pain. They had maddened him to nothing more than an animal prepared to slaughter for survival.

Hibari must be the same, with parallel feelings in his struggle to tame his bloodlust. But Mukuro honestly believed that if they could put their past animosity aside just for this case, their bloodlust and hunting instincts could be put to good use.

"Just this once, Skylark. Afterwards, assuming we survive the investigation of course, kufufu~ I'll be sure to treat you to a serious fight. Without trickery, without even illusions. We'll both be able to sate our bloodlust, you know that very well. We'll put our anger on hold and work together, if only so that you can continue protecting the peace of your precious town."

Hibari narrowed his eyes, but Mukuro could see that he was buying it this time. Namimori peace came before everything else, and Hibari was desperate for more leads. It wasn't something he could physically access, and he knew that Mukuro knew the spiritual world better than he did.

"Fine." He managed out through clenched teeth. Mukuro smirked tiredly at him and held out his hand.

"Shake on it."

Hibari resisted the urge to roll his eyes and extended his own hand as well. Mukuro almost flinched when their skin came into contact. He had been expecting the contact be shockingly cold, but it wasn't. Hibari's hand was warm. He could see from his arch nemesis' expression that Hibari had been expecting something along the same lines, but he was equally as shocked.

Mukuro grinned with renewed vigor. "See now, Skylark. There's the proof. We're both still human enough to care."

* * *

**~Chrome~**

Chrome hadn't been doing much for the past few days except napping and feeling sorry for herself. But then again, Yamamoto, Tsuna and Lambo haven't been doing much either. Tsuna had holed himself up in his room with nothing for company except Natsu and a couple of bottles of alcohol. He had never been a drinker, but then again, the circumstances were different. Chrome couldn't really blame him, when she was occasionally taking sips of the stuff herself. It numbed her senses and made her forget about her worries. It felt really nice.

Yamamoto was out in the courtyard, bouncing a baseball against the wall. Chrome could see him from her bedroom window.

Yamamoto's reaction to the whole thing is probably the scariest. He still had that goofy smile plastered to his face, but for those who knew him, they could see the sharpness of his mouth, the tightness of his lips and the flare of anger bursting behind his eyes. When he talked, his words were strained, his laughter grating and annoying. He didn't seem to mind talking about what had happened to the four deceased, but when someone did bring it up to his face, his hand would clench unconsciously, so much so that his knuckles turned bone white.

He also got a lot more active. He was always either running, or bouncing the ball against the wall, or occasionally training with his Shigure Kintoki with some of the Nono's guardians. He smiled less when he was alone, and seemed to take on a scary, glaring expression which prevented anyone from approaching him, including Tsuna. He was isolating himself.

Chrome felt that she should also be training. What if something happened again and someone she cared deeply about got hurt again? Just the thought of seeing bossu's body decapitated, or Mukuro's corpse, or even Kumo-san's lifeless figure scared her. She didn't want to lose to anyone, least of all a supernatural being that seemed to have targeted her friends. Sure, she was probably just a substitute for the real Vongola mist, but she was here with bossu right now, so the least she could do was make sure she was prepared for an attack.

Wiping her eyes dry, she gave her pillow one last squeeze before stumbling into the bathroom. Quickly splashing water on her face, combed her hair with her fingers and glared at herself in the mirror. _Chrome Dokuro, you're only going to be even more useless if you sit around doing nothing. You better make use of what time you have left before another attack, and get stronger quick. I wonder if Yamamoto-san will let me spar with him. Maybe it would be better for both of us if we relieve some of our anxieties this way..._

"Ne, ne, pineapple haired lady..."

Chrome let out a little squeak of surprise. She had sworn she left the door locked. "L..Lambo-kun...is there anything wrong?"

Lambo rubbed his eyes sleepily, and Chrome's eyes softened. Around Lambo's eyes were red rims, much like the ones around Chrome's eyes as well. She wasn't the only one who had been crying. She knelt down so that she was eye level with the child. "Lambo-kun, do you need anything?"

"Lambo-sama is bored! Dame-Tsuna doesn't want to play with Lambo-sama anymore! Kyoko and Haru aren't here to play with Lambo-sama either! And Ipin is always helping Mama out in the kitchen and saying how bad Lambo-sama is! Lambo-sama isn't a bad kid! Lambo-sama is just bored! Ne, pineapple lady, play with me!"

Chrome sighed. She really wanted to go do some training, but it wasn't good to leave Lambo to his own devices either. Really, the kid shouldn't have been wandering the halls by himself in the first place. It was slightly disturbing that Mama had allowed it, but she supposed the Vongola Mansion was safe. If it was a supernatural entity, however, nowhere was really safe. They were all the way in Italy now, but it could've easily followed them...

A chill went down her neck. What if it was here, listening to her thoughts right now? Would it attack her? The more she thought about it, the more scared she got.

"Ne, Pineapple lady?"

"Lambo, what would you like to play?" Chrome inquired softly, trying ignore the feeling that someone was watching her. Someone other than Lambo, that is. But even Lambo wasn't looking at her at the moment. He was looking downwards, his hand on his chin as he had seen Gokudera do sometimes when he was thinking hard. The notion that Lambo had looked up to Gokudera saddened her even more. They had a natural siblings relationship; even though they found each other increasingly irritating as the years went by, they somehow always ended up messing with each other. Just like true brothers. And now Lambo's brother was gone. His usual 'caretakers' were gone. Ipin was helping out, acting more grown up than usual. There was nobody to protect him and to play with him.

So busy was she contemplating poor Lambo's solution that she didn't even have time to scream as a hand wrapped itself around her throat and started to scream. She heard Lambo let out a loud cry, and then the room was filled with high-pitched, giggling laughter. Her vision darkened, and then faded.

_So the murderer had followed them after all._

* * *

**~Mukuro~**

Mukuro waved another file at Hibari. "There's all the information I compiled about the case in the female dormitories with Sasagawa Kyoko. Almost everything is based on Gokudera Hayato's words, but he seems honest enough. Unless he was the murderer, there would be no need for him to cover anything up, and seeing that he mainly doesn't want Sawada Tsunayoshi to get hurt, I really doubt he had done the dirty deeds. Kufufu~ It took me a lot of effort to go through all this information collection, you better read it properly, skylark."

Hibari snatched the file out of his hands without a word of thanks, and Mukuro sighed. Some things will never change. Smirking, he perched himself on the edge of the sofa Hibari was currently occupying, ignoring the glares he got from the ex-prefect. Eventually, Hibari turned his attention to the file once more and fought the urge to tonfa the smirking bastard to death.

"If there's anything else you need, I suppose I could try aga-" Mukuro got cut off suddenly. Hibari raised an eyebrow and turned to silently observe him.

Mukuro pressed a hand to his throat, confused. "This is.." And then it hit him. If nothing was happening to himself, then it must be happening to his other half. _Nagi._

His voice hardened. "The creature followed them and is now attacking my dear Chrome. Kufufufu~ That thing...will pay dearly in all due time. Excuse me while I aid my dear Nagi." Hibari watched as Mukuro closed his eyes, no doubt paying his vessel's mind a visit. The room grew chilly, and he growled under his breath, refusing to give in to the increasingly menacing atmosphere. Mukuro slumped off the sofa, and Hibari stared at his uncomfortable position for a while before sighing, reaching forwards and pulling him upright against the back of the sofa via gripping his hair.

_Blood for vengeance. I will not be satisfied. _

The voice had come out of nowhere. It was definitely not Mukuro's. Hibari let go of Mukuro's hair, partly in shock, partly in disgust.

Mukuro's body trembled slightly, and Hibari cautiously eyed his unconscious arch nemesis. Was it just him, or were his eyelids starting to glow eerily?

"Rokudo Mukuro." He snarled. "If this is a prank, I will surely beat you within an inch of your life."

No answer came, but Hibari decided to go for the blow anyway. At its worse, it would wake Mukuro from his trance and make him angry. But as soon as his tonfa touched Mukuro's clammy skin, he found himself being pulled into Mukuro's mind, falling into the man's senses and having them take over his own.

* * *

**~Chrome~**

_Get outside. _She told herself. _Get outside, where you will be with Yamamoto-san, and the monster will not be able to get you. _

As soon as the grip around her neck had loosened slightly, she had lashed out. She heard a terrified yelp and opened her eyes to see Lambo gripping her hand tightly, snot running freely out of one nose. His eyes were wide and terrified, and he was staring at something behind her. She whipped around.

There was nothing there.

"Lambo...let's get out of here." She coughed hoarsly. When she turned to stare at the cow child once more, she found her gaze locked with a pair of glowing yellow eyes, floating right behind Lambo, slinking through the darkness. To Chrome, it looked as if it was some kind of big animal, with its haunches raised and its eyes glaringly sharp and observant. She stumbled backwards, hurriedly pulling Lambo into her arms.

Lambo shrieked and fought as if he was possessed, but Chrome could see that he was only scared beyond reason. The yellow eyes followed their every movement, moving ever closer. She dreaded the moment when the thing would dare to come out of the darkness. When she blinked, it seemed to move closer. If she turned her back to it, will it pounce?

Mustering all her courage, she sent a blast of illusionary flames its way, and then took off pelting down the corridor.

_Why did the Vongola mansion have to be this big? _She was completely and utterly lost. The child in her arms had ceased fighting, and was only whimpering once in a while.

_Turn left, my dear Chrome. _She sighed in relief. Help had arrived. She turned left and started down a darker section of the corridor. Even as the light dimmed, she felt increasingly confident. She was no longer alone. Mukuro had once again come to help her. Smiling slightly, she stopped at another turn and sought his presence.

_Right, and then walk straight to the end of the corridors. Make sure not to turn off into any other paths, my dear Chrome. Over there, you should see a staircase leading downwards to the main doors of the mansion, but it's waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs._

At least now she knew it wasn't exactly behind her anymore. Mustering her courage once again, Chrome continued slowly with a blubbering Lambo in her arms.

Suddenly, one of the doors at the end of the corridor flew open with a loud slam. She turned and was surprised to see Tsuna charging at her, his expression one of loathing and anger. She stepped backwards, but was unable to completely escape him. He was way too fast. Just as he was about to raise a hand to strike her, he stopped. He stood there, trembling, unmoving. He was looking behind her, his expression quickly morphing from one of anger to one of horror.

She turned once more and found herself captivated by a pair of gleaming teeth, before it went for her head and she screamed.

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry, but this story might have to be on hold until next weekend. Something big has come up, and I don't have the time to write anymore. Please forgive me for the lateness, and I'm so sorry that I had to leave it off at a cliffhanger, and I know I promised updates once a day, but I really can't write, as much as I want to. I apologize sincerely and depending on the reception for this chapter, I might be able to squeeze a chapter out tomorrow night or something. I'm so sorry for the possible delay, and I'll work as hard as I can to make sure I can still update on time, but I just want to warn you all in advance...

Thank you so much to those who reviewed after my previous update!

**They Who Are Unloved-Neglected, Lunakatsuma **and** Elle Von Werner. **

Please, please, please review. It really means a lot to me to hear about what you guys think. This is my first time writing horror too, so don't be scared to critique if you're not satisfied. It'll only help me get better...

Who would you like to hear from next? Yamamoto or Hibari?


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